First Impressions (DA:I Pride and Prejudice AU)
by nero749
Summary: When the unthinkable happens, both Lavellan and Trevelyan are forced to work for the Inquisition. Lavellan is displeased to discover the proud elf she met at the Conclave is now someone she must work with. Trevelyan on the other hand finds she is secretly grateful she now has to work closely with the Inquisition's most eligible bachelor, Cullen Rutherford.
1. Chapter 1

"Can you believe they let the rabbit in?" the heavy accent almost obscured the words enough for Losyre not to pick up on the two Orlesian nobles discussing her presence at the Conclave. They were standing on the other side of the table with the frilly cakes, very noticeably not looking directly at her. Losyre picked up the frilly cake she had been eyeing, before slowly turning to the nobles and looking directly at them, almost challenging them to repeat the insult, but the nobles kept their eyes on each other.

"Fenedhis lasa," Losyre muttered under her breath as she made her way to the other side of the room, hiding away in a quiet little corner. Losyre picked apart the frilly cake she had taken with her, chewing on it with little pleasure. Losyre would never understand why Keeper Deshanna insisted she would come here. Her clan, clan Lavellan, had more contact with humans than any other Dalish clan she knew of, Losyre felt this was because Keeper Deshanna hoped it would give clan Lavellan more influence, or at least keep them safer from human violence, but it infuriated Losyre this often meant biting their tongue around humans. Why would they bother with human nobility? What did this rebellion matter to them? Whether the mages or the Templars ever returned to serve the Chantry, how did that truly matter to their lives? Losyre had even heard rumours of a possible marriage between her and whatever human would be willing to take her, but surely Keeper Deshanna realised that while Losyre was willing to do a lot for the clan, being married off to the suitor best for clan Lavellan's power was not something she would consent to.

"I prefer the pink ones, but those are pretty good too," a woman's voice said. It took Losyre a while to realise the woman was talking to her.

Losyre looked up, and saw a young woman, a human woman. It was difficult to tell, but Losyre was fairly certain the woman had to be nobility, going by the dress she was wearing, she looked like she was from the Free Marches, like Losyre's clan. The woman looked nervous, fidgeting with the small pink cake she was holding in her hand.

"I suppose," Losyre said tentatively.

The woman looked relieved to hear Losyre finally answer her. "They all have names, you know, but I keep forgetting them."

Losyre nodded at the small pink cake, "that one is probably called the 'nougat nug' or something along those lines."

The woman laughed a little, clearly not picking up on the mockery in Losyre's voice. "I prefer that name to the actual one."

Losyre smiled accommodatingly.

The woman held out her hand. "I am Jane Trevelyan."

Losyre looked at the hand, trying to remember the exact ritual that went with it, tentatively she held out her own hand, Jane took it and shook it. "I'm Losyre," Losyre said when Jane wouldn't let go of her hand.

"Nice to meet you Losyre," Jane said, finally releasing Losyre's hand. Jane bit her lip. "Can I ask you something, Losyre?"

"I suppose."

"I was very surprised to see an elf here," Jane said.

"You mean in another capacity than servant?"

Jane's cheeks flushed red. "I–"

"I was sent here by my clan," Losyre said.

"Your clan?"

"Yes, I'm a Dalish elf," Losyre said with pride.

"I have heard of Dalish elves, I just… never met one."

"I am not surprised," Losyre said. Looking at Jane's face she felt slightly guilty. "Were you sent here by your family?"

Jane's face lit up at the question, likely she was thankful for Losyre extending her some kindness. "Yes, officially to represent our family, but…" Jane looked around the room as if she was expecting some spy to appear "can I tell you something?" Jane looked eager to continue, but she waited for Losyre to give her permission. "In truth they sent me here to find a husband, my mother would deny it of course, but that is why she sent me here," Jane gestured to her dress, "in this."

"I see," Losyre said, unsure why Jane would confide in her.

Jane looked around the room, her eyes came to rest on a group of nobles standing near them. Despite Jane's seemingly slightly naïve personality, Losyre could see Jane had in fact noticed the way the nobles were looking at them, or the way they were looking at Losyre to be precise. "Losyre, would you like to escape this place for a little while?" Jane asked, her eyes still on the nobles, then turning her eyes to Losyre, she said, "It will be some time before the negotiations begin, and I would rather wait in the fresh air than in here."

Losyre glanced at the nobles and smiled a little, "I agree."

They left the Temple and found a small patch of green among the snow. Both Losyre and Jane ate the tiny cakes they had brought with them, and slowly a kind of kinship grew between them, commiserating in their displeasure at being at the Conclave, and carrying the burden of doing what you had to for your family.

Losyre and Jane watched as more and more people arrived, many of them nobles, complaining loudly about having to walk the last part to the Temple. Losyre watched the elven servants arriving with them, they all looked at her, perhaps seeking out some kind of kinship, until they spotted her vallaslin.

"I never noticed how many elven servants there are," Jane said, looking at the steady stream of nobles. "Look, there is another one," Jane said.

Losyre did not look, at first, because she assumed Jane had been pointing at the same servants she was already watching, but then she noticed that Jane was in fact looking to some trees a little way away from them. Losyre looked as well, and then she saw him, an elf wearing a large cloak. The elf was taller than other elves, and he didn't bear the vallaslin, which normally meant he was a city elf, but something about the way he carried himself made Losyre reconsider. And curious.

Losyre got to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Jane asked.

"Just…" Losyre's voice trailed off as she couldn't help but wander over to the elf.

Jane quickly got up and followed her.

"Another elf!" Jane said enthusiastically, then, looking at the two elves, she realised she'd said something wrong and her face turned red again. "I just meant, I hadn't expected to see any elves here who, well, weren't here to…" her voice trailed off.

"I had not expected to see any free elves here either," the tall elf said. He studied Losyre's face. "You are Dalish," he said, there was a certain disdain to the way he said it.

"I am, yes," Losyre said, narrowing her eyes.

"Aren't you?" Jane asked.

"No, I am not," the elf answered tersely.

"But you're not a city elf," Losyre stated.

"No," he said, then looked at Losyre's clothing, she couldn't be dressed more Dalish if she tried and there was something about the way he looked at her that aggravated her.

"Did your clan sent you here?" the elf asked.

"Why?"

"I have encountered a few Dalish clans, none of them seemed to have an interest in the world beyond their own private rituals."

"We try to preserve the old ways of the elves," Losyre said defensively.

The elf scoffed, "then you are doing a poor job of it."

Jane seemed more uncomfortable with the tension between the two elves than either Losyre or the strange elf. "Maybe you could come with us inside? We should take a look, see what's happening, they might be starting…" Jane waited for a response, but the elves were too focused on each other. "Maybe you would like to watch together? Maybe it's nice watching it with one of your own people."

Their reactions came in chorus. "She is not _one of my people_." "He is not _my_ people."

Losyre and the tall elf looked at each other, their eyes burning with a shared dislike.

"I think we should go inside," Jane said, and she gently tried to pull Losyre away with her. Reluctantly Losyre let her.

Losyre looked over her shoulder, the elf was still looking at them, but there was something in his expression had changed.

They reached the door, one of the smaller side doors into to the Temple's interior, when the elf suddenly called out to them. "I think it will be a while before it begins."

Losyre turned around, the elf had half followed them toward the temple. Losyre wasn't sure what he wanted to accomplish by the remark.

"You could stay outside, for a little while longer," the elf said.

"We probably could," Jane said.

"You want to stay outside?" Losyre asked.

"I'm not very comfortable around nobility, well, Orlesians anyway, neither are you I imagine."

Losyre pursed her lips, looking at the tall elf. But Jane was right, Losyre would infinitely prefer waiting out here over waiting in there. "All right, find a spot, and I'll go get some cakes and come back," Losyre said and she went inside the temple. She thought she heard the elf say something, just before she went through the door, but she hadn't understood him and she really wanted to get away from him, even if only for a little while. Hopefully by the time Losyre returned, the elf would have retreated back to the shadows.

The hallway Losyre ended up in was one she hadn't been in before. She felt slightly lost, but heard voices and knew following them would lead her to the main hall, and to the cakes. Even though the cakes had simply been an excuse to get away from the elf, Losyre felt she should at least bring some to hide that fact.

When Losyre finally got close enough to the voices to understand what they were saying, she realised she wasn't near the hall.

" _Now is the hour of our victory,"_ a deep male voice said.

" _Why are you doing this? You of all people?"_ a female voice answered.

Losyre rushed forward.

 _"Keep the sacrifice still."_

She reached two large wooden doors and heard someone call out for help. Losyre took out her daggers and pushed against the door with her shoulder.

The doors burst open and it took her a while to understand what she was seeing: a large, strange creature was holding an orb up, it was glowing and it seemed to imprison the woman she had heard calling out for help. The woman was suspended in air; the creature was performing some kind of ritual on her. Although Losyre did not recognise the woman, she could tell from her dress that it was the Andrastian Divine, the key player in the peace talks.

"What's going on here?" Losyre called out.

Both the creature and the Divine turned to look at her, then the Divine did something unexpected: she managed to free herself from whatever incantation held her suspended mid-air, and lashed out, knocking the orb out of the creature's hand. Before really considering the action, Losyre found herself racing forward, reaching out and grabbing the orb, snatching it away from the creature's grasping clutches.

Losyre immediately regretted her hasty actions; the second she touched the orb, pain shot through her arm like lightning, blinding pain winding around her arm, bringing her to her knees. Losyre screeched as the pain intensified, intense heat spreading through her veins and then…

BWOOOOM

The last thing Losyre saw was the orb exploding in her hand. And then she was lost in a white bright light.

Notes:

I planned this out, and I keep most of DA:I's events intact, but some might be combined together, so to better fit "Pride and Prejudice's" events.

This is also and AU where both Lavellan and Trevelyan survive the Conclave. (I always imagined all possible Inquisitors are at the Conclave, and you choosing who to play as decides who lives in the end.)

Some characters of "Pride and Prejudice" won't show up, or might be combined into one character.

(Also, for those wondering, yes the title is a reference to Jane Austen's original title for "Pride and Prejudice.")


	2. Chapter 2

"Argh," Losyre groaned as she rolled on her side, the pain waking her from what felt like an endless sleep. She blinked against the light, trying to make out where she was. Losyre didn't recognise the room she found herself in, lying on the ground, not helped by the fact that it was dark, with only some light falling on her face from a small barred window. Then her eyes spotted something familiar, a familiar presence in the cell.

"Fen'harel lasa ar," she muttered under her breath **["Dread Wolf take me,"]** * Losyre struggled to sit upright, keeping her eyes on the elf. "Why are you here?" she asked.

The elf cocked his head. "I would have though you would be more curious as to why _you_ are in this cell, chained as you are."

Losyre only now noticed the shackle around her ankle. Her heart sank; all the warnings the Keeper had given her about elves being taken came rushing back, in her youth she had never considered the threats to relate to herself, but now…

"I have tried to explain to them the shackles are not necessary," the elf said, "and barbaric."

Losyre shook her head in confusion. " _Who_ did you tell this? You're _not_ a prisoner then?"

The elf chuckled, "for now, I'm sure their suspicions will turn to me soon enough, once the immediate threat is dealt with."

"The immediate threat? Do you mean me?"

The elf laughed. "No, I was referring to something more destructive."

The cell door opened and two human women entered, one brandishing a sword already aimed at Losyre. Losyre got to her feet, she reached for her daggers, but of course they were not there.

The woman holding the sword looked at the elf, "is everything all right? We heard voices."

"I was talking to your prisoner, Seeker," the elf said.

"Why am I chained?" Losyre demanded.

The woman turned to Losyre, their eyes met, fire burning in both their eyes. "You should be thankful we have not killed you yet," the woman said. "The Conclave destroyed, the Divine… killed, along with _any_ chance of peace…"

"You think _I_ did that?"

"You were found among the rubble," the other woman said.

"Ah, so you think me a murderer _and_ incompetent? You think I would blow up a building I was still in?"

"If you were not responsible, then how do you explain this?" the woman grabbed Losyre's wrist before she had a chance to react. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through Losyre's arm and a previously invisible mark on her hand lit up with a green fire that burned at the ends of her nerves. Losyre gasped, she had seen magic before, but never wielded it and this mark seemed to burn with a magic that had somehow nestled itself under her own skin.

"This was caused by the explosion?" Losyre asked surprised.

"I believe so," the elf said.

"Or it is what _caused_ the explosion," the woman said. "The explosion that ripped the sky apart and killed Divine Justinia!" the woman rushed forward and grabbed Losyre's arm. The other human in the room stepped in. "Cassandra," she took the woman's arm and pulled her away from Losyre, "we could need her help, need the mark, to close the breech."

Losyre's thoughts returned to the Conclave, all those people who had come there, not all of them with the best intentions, but many had sought peace, and now they were dead, and –" Losyre gasped as she finally remembered Jane.

"Were there any survivors?" Losyre asked, her voice tense. The two women seemed surprised to hear her ask that, but it was the elf who answered her, "your friend did, yes."

Losyre's sense of relief was stronger than she would have expected, considering her current predicament and the short amount of time she had known Jane before the explosion.

"What do you remember, did you see what caused the explosion?" the elf asked. Cassandra and the other woman looked keen for the answer as well.

"I…" Losyre tried to remember. "I remember running, and… a woman?"

"A woman?" Cassandra asked, her voice pressing for an answer, almost pleading.

"I think so, I think she…" Losyre shook her head.

"Closing the breech should be our priority," the elf said.

"He is right," Cassandra said, "go Leliana, we will meet you at the forward camp."

"What _is_ the breech?" Losyre asked.

"It's a tear in the veil between this world and the Fade," the elf said.

Losyre looked at him, almost wanting to question his story, but she could tell by the look on Cassandra's face that he was telling her the truth.

"And you think this mark can seal it?"

"We hope," the elf said.

"We have little choice but to try," Cassandra said. "Will you help?"

"Do I have a choice?" Losyre said, shaking the shackles around her leg.

Cassandra looked annoyed by the remark, but she got down on her knees so she could reach the shackles and get them off Losyre's leg. Cassandra slowly straightened herself, keeping her eyes on Losyre, waiting for her next move.

It was the elf who broke the silence when he turned to Losyre. "I suppose there should be some introductions, my name is Solas," he nodded his head. Losyre looked at Cassandra, who then reluctantly said, "Cassandra," Losyre was grateful she hadn't stood on any human rituals. "I'm Losyre," she said to both of them.

Cassandra and Solas went first, Losyre followed, trying to think how she could get away, she would first have to know where she was, they said the conclave was destroyed, so the temple was probably gone, and Losyre didn't remember anywhere near the temple where a prison could be.

Losyre was still running through different ways to escape, when they walked out of the building she had been kept. The landscape was as snowy as it had been around the temple, and as Losyre's eyes went up to the sky, it wasn't difficult to tell where the temple had been. There, in the middle of the clear blue sky, was a green vortex. This had to be the breech, it was enormous, green ripping into the blue, violent motion pushing down a long green arm reaching into the mountains, right where the temple was, or had been.

"Fenedhis," Losyre whispered.

"Quite," Solas said next to her.

"You think I can fix that?" Losyre asked, her voice full of disbelief, even more so now she had seen the breech with her own eyes.

"I think you will try," Cassandra said, gesturing for Losyre to follow.

* * *

The march to the forward camp wasn't that long, but with every few hundred feet they travelled, the mark on Losyre's hand seemed to spread; its light sparking a little brighter, the pain a little sharper. They arrived to find the other woman – who Cassandra called Leliana – arguing with a member of the Andrastian Chantry, Cassandra and Solas quickly joined them, Losyre left them to it and looking around the bridge the camp had been stationed on, she spotted a familiar face.

"Jane?" Losyre asked surprised, apparently Losyre was the only survivor they had considered suspect enough to imprison.

"Losyre!" Jane ran directly at her and threw her arms around Losyre's neck. Losyre was surprised by the intimate gesture, but welcomed it, feeling Jane at least would be on her side in this madness. "They told me you were alive, but wouldn't let me see you and I thought I should help fight, well, fight that," Jane pointed at the breech. She wasn't wearing the dress Losyre had last seen her in, instead she was wearing some kind of generic human armour Losyre had seen others wearing around the camp. On her back she had a shield and a sword. "You're a warrior?" Losyre asked surprised.

"What, you thought I was just some fancy noble?"

"Well, not a fancy one," Losyre smiled.

Jane laughed, then she looked over Losyre's shoulder. "You brought Solas and Cassandra?"

"You know them?"

"Cassandra introduced herself, after Solas and I reached Haven."

"Haven?"

"Yes, it's a small village near the temple. I knew it existed and Solas knew where it was."

"Solas?"

"Yes, he said we should see if we could help, after the temple exploded…" Jane bit her lip. "Losyre, you have to know I wouldn't have left you there if I knew you'd survived, but the explosion… it just seemed impossible anyone would survive, I myself only survived because Solas said he had seen a strange statue I might think funny and before we'd even reached it, everything went white…"

Losyre was surprised to hear Solas had apparently helped her friend after the explosion.

"Losyre," Cassandra's voice called out.

"What?" Losyre turned to face her.

"We are discussing our path to the temple," Cassandra said.

"Yes… just tell me when you want to leave."

"We would like for you to decide."

"Me? Decide what?"

"What path we should take," Cassandra said.

Losyre frowned. "I was your prisoner less than an hour ago, and now you want me to advise you on strategy?"

"You have the mark," Solas said.

"The mark isn't giving me much advise at the moment, I'm afraid," Losyre said.

"Do you believe we should charge with the soldiers or take the mountain path?" Leliana asked.

"Whichever option is less likely to get me killed before closing the breech kills me."

"The mountain path then?" Jane suggested.

"You're coming as well?" Losyre asked.

"Of course," Jane said.

And with that, the four of them left for the ruins of the temple. Everyone was quite, perhaps silenced by the threat hanging above their heads, though Losyre was pre-occupied with worrying what was in store for her if she failed to close the breech. Her whole life Losyre had been told elves were not save in human society, and now she was travelling with a human warrior who thought she might have caused the explosion that killed their religious leader.

When they finally reached the temple, the destruction was greater than Losyre had imagined. She couldn't believe she had been in the middle of an explosion this destructive, and had come out of it unscathed. Except for the mark on her hand.

All that was left standing of the temple were some parts of its outer walls, strange red rocks were spread around the area, and in the middle of the ruin the breech connected to a strange shape, almost like a large green crystal, constantly breaking and reforming itself.

"This is your chance to end this, are you ready?" Cassandra asked.

"Ready?" Losyre gestured to the breech. "You expect me to fly up there?"

"We must try, this rift was the first, it's the key, it is our best chance at sealing the breech," Solas said.

"I was not suggesting to give up," Losyre replied, "but I can't reach it, I'm not sure what I would even do to try and seal it."

"Let's find a way down first," Cassandra said.

As they made their way down to the centre of the ruin, a strange voice rang out from the rift, followed by Divine Justinia's voce, and then…

"That's your voice," Cassandra said surprised, "the Divine, she called out to you…"

Before Cassandra could finish her thought, there were flashes of light, the Divine and a dark figure… some kind of ritual… Losyre tried to understand, but she couldn't remember.

"Those are echoes of what happened, the Fade is bleeding into this world," Solas said. "We have to open this rift to be able to properly close it, the mark should be able to open it."

"You seem to know a lot about this thing," Losyre said.

"It is just a theory until we do so," Solas said.

"If you're sure," Losyre said.

"I usually am," Solas replied and suddenly he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her arm up in an awkward angle.

"What are you –" Losyre said angrily but before she could finish the rift reacted to the proximity of the mark, pain shot through her hand and the rift cracked open, and immediately spewed out a large Pride demon.

Losyre had never seen a demon before, only renderings of demons, drawn by the mages of her clan. While she knew demons could be summoned into this world, it terrified her to think her mark could do so, or the rifts could do so. If there were rifts all over Thedas, as Cassandra had told her, what did this mean for the world?

Soon the Pride demon wasn't the only threat, as other, smaller demons started coming through the rift. Jane proved quite the capable warrior, rivalling even Cassandra in strength, Losyre concentrated on the smaller demons, too afraid to get close to the pride demon. Only now did Losyre notice Leliana had joined them and was attacking from a distance, she was an archer and had brought more archers with her. It did not take long before they had defeated the demons and Losyre heard Cassandra yell at her to seal the rift, while Solas called out "use the mark."

Losyre lifted her hand like he had before and again the rift reacted to her mark, the pain shot through her again, more overwhelming than before and then everything went dark.

* * *

Losyre awoke in a bed this time, no shackles or bars, in fact, she found herself in a small cabin. Before Losyre could wonder what was going on, the door to the small cabin she was in opened, and a pleasantly surprised Jane entered. "You're awake!" Jane said as she rushed forward, hugging Losyre.

"Where are we?" Losyre asked.

"We're in Haven," Jane said. She bit her lip.

"What?"

"A lot has happened, you've been asleep for three days, Solas said I shouldn't worry, but –"

"Solas?"

"Yes, he looked after you, like before," Jane said. "I suppose mages are better at healing than most physicians."

Losyre shook her head. "What has happened?"

"Err… I'm not sure how to tell you, you're an elf, so I assume if you don't believe in… well, you probably… you probably believe in your own gods, but…" Jane shifted so she could sit closer to Losyre. "You should know that people have been calling you the Herald of Andraste," she said it in a tone that made it clear Jane knew this news wouldn't be welcome. "And…" Jane took a deep breath. "And they are using you as a symbol for their Inquisition."

"Inquisition?"

"Yes, they started an Inquisition, I wasn't involved. No one told me beforehand, but Cassandra made an announcement about it in front of all of Haven."

"And I am their 'Herald' because of this," Losyre looked at her mark.

Jane looked guilty, as if she was somehow responsible. "I think people just need to believe the Maker is on their side, what with the world coming to an end."

"The breach isn't closed then?"

"No, it is… stable, I think that's what Solas called it, but it's still there."

"So I am not going back to my clan any time yet."

"I don't think they'd let you leave, everyone knows your mark is the only magic that can close the rift."

The door opened again, it was Cassandra. "Lady Trevelyan, Losyre," she greeted them.

"The guard outside said he heard voices, so I came to see if you had awakened," Cassandra said. "And you have, good." She looked slightly apprehensive. "I'm not sure if you've heard, but –"

"You're an Inquisition now, yes I heard," Losyre said.

" _We_ are, at least, I would like for you to stay, we need the mark to close the rifts."

Losyre shifted in the bed. "And if I want to leave?"

Cassandra looked a little angry now, "I cannot imagine where you would want to go, the rifts are everywhere and the breech is still in the sky, I don't think there is a safe place to hide."

"But I am free to leave?" Losyre pressed.

Cassandra clenched her jaw, "I suppose."

"Good," Losyre said and got up from the bed, "then I'll stay."

Cassandra looked annoyed, "you were testing me?"

"No one likes being a prisoner," Losyre said.

"Very well," Cassandra reached out her hand and Losyre shook it. "Welcome to the Inquisition Losyre," Cassandra said and she turned to leave. "There will be a celebration tonight, in the Chantry, you're both welcome to attend."

"Am I part of the Inquisition as well then?" Jane asked.

"I do not think we're in the position to be turning down the help of skilled warriors," Cassandra said and left.

"I guess only the Herald gets a handshake," Jane said.

"Please don't call me that."

"All right, but I hope you're prepared to hear it a lot from other people. And you might find you want them to believe you're the Herald."

"Why?" Losyre asked.  
"I'll admit I have been naïve in my understanding of what elves go through, but I am not entirely blind, I think them believing you were sent by Andraste might at least protect you," Jane said, "besides, it now seems they either believe you caused the breech or can close it, it would be better if they believed the latter."

Losyre sighed, "I really wish I could just disappear back to the Free Marches."

"Not tonight," Jane said, "we really should at least look in on the celebration."

"Meaning you _want_ to go?"

"It might be fun," Jane said.

"A celebration in the Chantry?" Losyre scoffed, but Jane seemed genuinely enthusiastic. "Fine, but if they start reciting the Chant of Light, I'm out of there."

* * *

Jane had gotten dressed in the same dress she had worn to the Conclave, it had been cleaned and now smelled faintly of flowers. Losyre was wearing her armour, Jane had tried to get her to wear a dress, but she had refused.

As they were walking to the Chantry, Losyre noticed the whole of Haven seemed abandoned, except for the brightly lit Chantry. The doors were open and from here you could already tell that it was crowded inside. Losyre had never been comfortable around large groups of people, well, unless you counted her own clan, and she felt even less comfortable walking into a Chantry, but Jane wanted to go and Losyre obliged.

Jane entered with genuine enthusiasm, while Losyre reluctantly followed, and she could not have prepared for what happened. The people closest to Losyre noticed her presence immediately and as a consequence they fell quiet, a silence washed over the crowd, as one by one all eyes focused on Losyre, and then the entire room split down the middle, opening a path for Losyre, running all the way through the hall. At the end of the path, Losyre could now see Cassandra and Leliana standing next to a man she'd never seen before, and she slowly started to make her way down the newly formed path, Jane following behind her.

" _That's the herald_."

" _A Dalish elf?"_

Losyre quickened her pace, trying to ignore the whispers, behind her she could hear Jane hurry to keep up with her. When she finally reached Cassandra and Leliana she felt relieved, safe among the women even if she hardly knew either of them. Behind her the crowd finally started talking normally again, and soon the path was gone, everyone mingling as they had before.

"Losyre," Cassandra said, "let me introduce you to the commander of the Inquisition's forces," she gestured to the man standing next to her. He was wearing an impressive armour that bore the insignia of the Templars. "This is commander Cullen, Cullen this is the priso–" Cassandra stopped herself a little too late, "this is the Herald."

"I'm not, please don't call me that," Losyre said.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes, "you don't believe you were sent by the Maker?"

"I don't believe in the Maker," Losyre said, unwilling to compromise on her own beliefs.

The tension was palpable until: "I'm pleased to see you are awake," the commander said, bowing his head at Losyre.

Behind her Losyre could hear Jane coughing, clearly trying to attract attention. Losyre moved a little aside so Jane could stand next to her. "This is Jane Trevelyan," Losyre said.

Cullen looked at Jane, "I…" his eyes moving to the ground, "I'm pleased to meet you."

"As am I," Jane said, "to meet you I mean," she added, now looking at the ground as well.

Cullen looked at Jane, shifted on his feet, then coughed. "Well, no one made quite an entrance like you… two… did." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I like to stand out from a crowd," Losyre said sarcastically. Cullen's eyes were still on Jane, "yes."

Jane looked up just a little too late to catch Cullen staring, nevertheless, she looked slightly nervous as well.

Losyre couldn't help but smile.

"Excuse me," a soft voice came from behind them, Losyre made way for the woman.

"This is our ambassador, Josephine Montilyet," Cassandra said as the woman pushed forward.

"You must be Lady Lavellan," Josephine said.

"I'm not – you can just call me Losyre."

"I think it would help your position in the Inquisition if we show you all proper respect," Josephine said.

Losyre looked puzzled, but she noticed Josephine was looking at the people behind them, Losyre turned and saw a few people staring, at first she assumed it was because she was 'the herald' but then she started to recognise some of the expressions, expressions she had noticed many times before. "I understand," Losyre said.

"Will you be joining my for–" the commander turned red, looking away from Jane. He cleared his throat. "Will you be joining the Inquisition's forces, Lady Trevelyan?"

Jane seemed surprised. "Because I'm a warrior?"

"Uhm… yes," the commander said.

Jane was slightly blushing. "I suppose I could stay, here with… erm… the Inquisition," she glanced at the commander.

"I'm not certain you have the right training for that," Cassandra said, crossing her arms.

"We have many new recruits, I am sure Lady Trevelyan could join them," Josephine said.

Cassandra clenched her jaw but didn't respond.

Jane looked slightly uncomfortable, so Losyre decided to return the favour Jane had done for her the day they had met. "Let's look around the room, maybe there's some food we can find," Losyre said as she started to pull her friend away.

"No frilly cakes, I'm afraid," Josephine said, her expression surprisingly serious considering the subject matter.

Losyre and Jane slowly made their way through the crowd, the whole room seemed to be divided into smaller groups, chatting amongst themselves. Losyre picked up a few snippets, some people were complaining, saying she should've closed the breech, some were complaining about having to sleep in tents, others were discussing the Chantry. Not feeling they could join in any of the conversations, Losyre and Jane eventually sat down on a small table – finding no chairs – to the side of the hall.

"Are you really staying?" Losyre asked Jane.

Jane's face lit up, "are you asking because you want me to?"

Losyre half smiled, "maybe," she admitted.

Jane briefly hugged her, "good, because I am."

Losyre was looking at her hand, even if the mark was not visible at the moment, and Jane noticed. "Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes," Losyre said, tracing her skin where the mark normally was, causing the mark to briefly light up.

"Ah, you must be our Herald then," a voice said.

Losyre looked up and noticed a redheaded dwarf walk up to them, wearing a shirt that seemed to be missing a few buttons.

"Did the glowing hand give it away?"

"That and you're one of the few elves here, so guessing your identity correctly isn't much of a challenge," the dwarf said, then bowed. "Varric Tethras, story teller and prisoner of the Inquisition."

"Prisoner? I had not realised this was a regular recruitment scheme of them," Losyre joked. Varric laughed. "I'm Losyre, and this is Jane." Jane waved.

"I'm sure I'm free to leave, more free than you are I suspect, but I'm not in the habit of walking away from a good story," Varric said.

"So what were you held for?" Jane asked.

"Nothing quite as spectacular as ripping a hole in the Veil and threatening the world," Varric said.

Before Varric could say anything else, Losyre was distracted by seeing Cassandra and Josephine walk by them, looking like they were going to come over, but then Cassandra noticed Varric and kept walking. Varric in turn noticed Jane and Losyre looking at Cassandra, and looked in time to see her walking away from them, followed by a clearly confused Josephine.

"The Seeker seems particularly serious today," Varric said.

"You know Cassandra?" Jane asked.

"We have history," Varric said, "not particularly pleasant history, mind you."

Losyre saw Josephine and Cassandra discuss something before Cassandra abruptly walked away and Josephine turned around and walked up to Losyre, Jane and Varric after all.

"Master Tethras, Lady Trevlyan," Josephine nodded at them before turning to Losyre. "I would like to discuss something with you, Lady Lavellan," she said. Losyre followed Josephine.

"Has anyone mistreated you?" Josephine asked. "This evening in particular?"

Losyre was surprised, "thank you for asking Josephine, but I can handle the odd stare and the occasional 'knife ear' thrown at me."

Josephine sighed, "I have spoken to the servants and asked commander Cullen to talk to the soldiers, but I am not entirely surprised."

"Again, it matters little to me, I have heard and experienced much worse."

"I imagine so," Josephine said, "nevertheless it is behaviour unbecoming of the Inquisition, if we are to work without the Chantry's approval we should at least seem proper." Josephine looked around the room, as if looking for a transgression taking place right that moment. "Not to mention it's behaviour I personally find detestable."

Losyre smiled. "Thank you, for your concern, it… it means a lot to me."

"Of course," Josephine, "now if you'll excuse me, I have to talk to Leliana." Josephine left to join the group, where Varric had now joined the others, Losyre was about to follow, but then noticed Solas had joined them. She hadn't even seen him entering the hall. Losyre felt uncomfortable and decided to just return to Jane. She was scanning the crowd, looking for her friend, when she caught something said by Varric.

"I think Curly is quite taken with Lady Trevelyan, I was watching you before," Varric's voice rang out. Losyre was hidden behind the people standing between her and the group, and she was thankful for the opportunity to eavesdrop. She had noticed Jane's reaction to the commander as well, and was curious what he would say about her friend.

"I… I am not," Cullen's reply came, you could almost hear the blushing in his voice.

"You are!" Leliana laughed.

"I… I…"

"We're just teasing you Curly," Varric said.

"I am surprised to see you enjoying the evening's celebrations, considering the events that led you to be part of the Inquisition," Solas said.

"I am, no use in mopping around, and you might want to cheer up yourself, Chuckles, you're bringing down the entire room," Varric said.

"You might be able to imagine this is not the most pleasant place to be, for an elven apostate," Solas said.

"I highly doubt Ruffles would allow anyone to attack you here, it would be bad manners."

"I imagine so," Solas said.

"Why don't you go talk to our Herald? I'm sure she'd appreciate being able to share the burden of being the elf with all eyes on her."

"Losyre?" Solas asked, sounding surprised. "I cannot imagine what you think I should discuss with her."

"Your people might do well standing together in the face of all the renewed suspicion," Leliana said.

"My people? Losyre is not one of my people."

"Are you referring to her being a Dalish elf?" Josephine asked.

"Quite," Solas answered curtly.

"You might still find you have something in common with her," Josephine tried tentatively.

"And what exactly do you imagine we would have in common?" Solas asked.

"I… I'm sure you can both learn something from each other," Josephine said.

"If she truly is a Dalish elf, I suspect she will be disinclined to listen to me. The Dalish consider themselves perfect, sole keepers of elven lore, what could I possible add to that?"

"Oh, I…" Josephine faltered.

"You truly believe she's like that?" Varric scoffed.

"I have seen nothing to suggest otherwise," Solas said.

Losyre turned around, planning on confronting Solas, but he looked up at just that moment and as their eyes met, Losyre lost her courage. Instead she turned around and decided to leave the celebrations.

As Losyre walked out into the snowy night, she heard Jane calling out after her. "Losyre, wait!" Jane ran to catch up. "Where are you going?"

"Home, or, well, that cabin I'm stationed in for the moment."

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm just tired of all the… _elfiness_ I suppose."

"Is it that elf? Solas?"

"Good guess."

"Not really, he's the only other elf here I've actually met here," Jane laughed nervously. "What happened?"

"Nothing really, I'm used to people disliking me because I'm Dalish," Losyre said. Jane touched her arm in support. Losyre looked up at her friend and smiled, "but I suspect you'd much rather discuss Commander Cullen."

Jane turned red. "I… I…"

Losyre laughed. "I didn't know you liked him _that_ much!"

Jane laughed a little as well, playfully pushing Losyre, "yeah well, just don't tell anyone."

"I'm sure he feels the same way," Losyre said, "in fact, I think you can count on it."

Jane didn't respond, but as they walked together to the cabin, Losyre could see a small smile appear on her friend's face.

Notes:

* While I have no real cannon reason to assume this, I am thinking "Dread Wolf take me" is Elven for 'f*ck me.'

I think this chapter will give you an idea about how I'll combine the two stories, though this was far more DA heavy, for obvious reasons. Much like I did here, I will probably shorten or combine events for the sake of getting all the required story, but not just writing out the game's progression.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Summary:

Jane falls ill.

* * *

"I see they left you behind as well," Losyre said as she sat down at one of the tables in the tavern. Every night most of the Inquisition ate dinner here in this tavern – usually strange foods Losyre had never had before – and she was grateful they let her eat with them. Normally she and Jane would have dinner together, but tonight Jane was somewhere in Val Royeaux, looking to gain Chantry approval, or at least the support of some of its members, after a mother Giselle had sent her there. Losyre had been _encouraged_ not to come. She understood of course, she was an elf, and as such, her role as Herald was more effective if she was not seen.

"I suspect for the same reasons you were left behind," Solas said when she was seated across from him.

"Don't tell me they have declared you the herald of a religion you have no connection with, meaning you are used as just a symbol?"

Solas smiled a little, "No, but I think you'll find an elven apostate has a similar effect on the Chantry."

Losyre took a few bites of the stew she'd been served. "I would take your role over mine any day," she said. She had not spoken to Solas a lot since stabilizing the breach, mostly by choice, but despite their differences, Losyre could not help but feel grateful she wasn't the only elf in the Inquisition.

"You will come to rethink that statement with time," Solas said softly. Losyre wasn't sure what he meant by it, but something in his face seemed different.

Before she could ask Solas anything else, the door of the tavern opened and Cullen and Josephine appeared. Losyre was surprised because Cullen never seemed to dine in the tavern, but when the two advisors approached her table it became clear why they were both there.

"Herald," Cullen said, "your presence is required in the war room."

"Me? You do realise I was a _hunter_ in my clan, not a strategist."

"That does not mean your insight cannot be valuable," Solas said. Losyre turned to look at him, surprised by the compliment.

"You are an important part of this Inquisition," Josephine said, "we should show you the respect due to you and your efforts so far."

Losyre smiled, she liked Josephine, she was one of the few people willing to acknowledge how strange this situation was for Losyre, and who seemed to genuinely care about how she was treated.

"All right," Losyre got up from the table, "let's go strategize then," she said, almost without laughing.

"Goodbye," Solas said, when Losyre turned to go.

"Oh," Losyre looked over her shoulder, "yes, goodbye Solas."

* * *

"Losyre!" Jane's enthusiastic greeting came as soon as Losyre entered the war room. Jane threw her arms around Losyre's neck. "It is good to see you again!"

"Jane, you're back! How did it go?"

Jane bit her lip and glanced at Josephine, Leliana, Cullen and Cassandra. "Not well, the Chantry members… well, they were dead set against us, and then the Templars –"

"Have abandoned reason!" Cullen suddenly interjected. "Breaking away from the Chantry… I can at least see their reasoning, but attacking its members!"

"Attacking?"

Jane nodded.

"I suppose we should try to contact the mage rebellion then?" Losyre asked.

"I believe some of the Templars will still be willing to help us," Cullen said.

"But isn't the Lord Seeker the highest authority? If we don't have his support, how would it work?" Jane asked Cullen.

"We cannot know how many of the Templars agree with his actions, if there is enough dissent in the ranks that we can convince Templars to join us, the Lord Seeker will have to follow."

"How do we even convince these Templars?" Losyre asked, not feeling very hopeful. She wanted to suggest contacting the mages again, after all they had enough magical power to help them, but Losyre feared the advisors would not listen to her, as she was just an agent of the Inquisition, Herald or not.

"The order was founded to fight magic, the Templars will recognise it is their duty to help us close the Breach," Cullen said. "We've received word from a knight-recruit willing to talk to the Inquisition, the Templars gather at Therinfal Redoubt."

"One Templar willing to meet with us will not be enough," Losyre said.

"You are right," Leliana said, "we must prove ourselves a more attractive prospect."

"If it's status the Lord Seeker seeks the Inquisition will approach him after allying with the noblest houses in Orlais," Josephine said.

"We don't have time to barter for favours, Josephine," Cassandra said, "the breach must be sealed soon."

"Without their help, we might never convince the Templars," Josephine said.

"Then they will come with us to Therinfal and demand the Templars help close the breach," Leliana said.

"You believe that will work?" Jane asked.

"Provided we manage to convince the houses to ally with us, yes," Josephine said.

"Even the Lord Seeker would find it difficult to ignore so many nobles on his doorstep," Cassandra said.

"Yes," Leliana said, "especially with your help, Lady Trevelyan."

"My help?" Jane asked surprised.

"Yes, your name is not well-known in Orlais, but they will recognise your title."

"Shouldn't Losyre go, she's the Herald," Jane said.

"She is, but I believe she will be more effective if she stays here," Leliana said.

"So I can remain a symbol, rather than who I am," Losyre said. While angry, she did understand why they wanted her out of sight, whatever weight those nobles would add to their cause when presented to the Templars, would be diminished if the Templars saw the Inquisition led by a Dalish elf. Considering how controversial Losyre's title as herald was, how many doubted her validity, it would not elevate her above her normal social rank.

"I have to agree, Lady Lavellan," Josephine said apologetically.

"I understand," Losyre said.

"Well I don't," Jane said. "Losyre has done so much for this Inquisition, she deserves more respect than that."

"I agree," Cullen said.

"Rumours you were saved by Andraste have spread among the Templars," Leliana said, "and while we have done our greatest to encourage the rumours, I fear they might not be ready to accept that you are an elf. The noblest will not at least."

"We can worry about the Herald's status later. First we must close the breach," Cassandra said.

"Yes, I understand," Losyre said, wanting the discussion to be over.

"And are you willing to go and represent the Inquisition, Jane?" Cullen asked.

"Of course, if it will help."

"Good, we will leave as soon as Josephine has made the arrangements," Cassandra said. "Josephine will accompany us."

"I will remain here," Leliana said.

"And you?" Jane asked, looking at Cullen.

Cullen flushed red for reasons only he understood, "Me?" He looked at Cassandra who seemed as confused by his fluster as Losyre was. "I… no, I'm afraid not, I'm needed here to train the new recruits and there is very little use for my skills at Therinfal."

"Oh," Jane said, "of course."

The meeting was quickly concluded and Jane was dragged away by Cassandra to prepare for the journey. There had been a time the Inquisition had ignored Jane's presence in Haven, but now they knew of her title, they were all too glad to use it. Losyre understood, but it made her feel useless as she was once again left to wait in Haven as other people took care of important quests.

* * *

Two weeks passed. Losyre spent most of them hunting in the woods around Haven, and many of its inhabitants were glad of the extra meat. This night the cooks in the taverns used two rams she had killed to make another stew – Fereldens seemed quite keen on their stews. Losyre was sitting by herself, and had just finished her meal when Josephine entered the tavern.

"Ah, Lady Lavellan!"

"You were looking for me?"

"Yes, I… I wanted to ask you something."

"You sound more serious than usual Josephine, should I worry?"

"No, I wanted to ask you if anyone in the Inquisition, well, if after last time there have been anymore incidents?"

Losyre smiled, "You are an incredibly kind person Josephine," she said.

Josephine blushed, "I think it is my duty to ensure everyone is treated with respect here," she said.

"You have nothing to worry about, I thin everyone in Haven has gotten used to my presence, I've not felt unwelcome at all."

"I am glad to hear it, Herald."

Losyre resisted the urge to correct Josephine. "I'm thankful for your kindness and your help."

"I believe Cullen has spoken to the soldiers as well, I'm sure that helped as well."

"He did?"

"He would not want his men to not show the proper conduct around you."

"Yes, he seems like a good man."

"I agree." Josephine smiled, she tried to hide it, but Losyre had spotted it.

"What?"

Josephine shook her head.

"Josephine…"

"It's nothing, I have… _noticed_ how Jane and Cullen look at each other," she said, hiding her face behind her hand.

"Oh, right," Losyre said.

Josephine looked around the tavern, as if expecting Cullen to suddenly be spying on them, "Does Jane have an interest in him?"

"Yes, why would you doubt it?" Losyre laughed.

"I don't know, I suppose she's just not said anything."

"She's only known the man for a few weeks, you cannot expect her to openly confess her love just yet."

"No, but…" Josephine bit her lip. "The commander is a very shy man, I suspect that if she does not show her interest in him, he will not notice."

"If Cullen can't tell by how she's been looking at him, or the things she has said, he's a fool," Losyre said.

"I think most of us need some encouragement to fall in love," Josephine said.

"I would think–"

Josephine suddenly elbowed Losyre in the rib when the door of the tavern was thrown open and Cullen entered. Losyre had to laugh at them almost being caught, but then she saw the flustered and worried look on Cullen's face.

"Herald! Ambassador Montilyet!" Cullen rushed over to their table. "The party has returned, and" – Cullen shook his head – "the scout who rode out before them, he said something happened to Jane."

"What happened to her?" Losyre got up from her seat.

"I'm not sure, but the scout said something about a demon waiting for them at Therinfal, I came to get you as soon as I heard."

"They're bringing her to the Chantry, we have healers, she will be all right," Cullen said as they left the tavern, but he didn't sound too convinced.

When they reached the Chantry, the doors were wide open and they entered just in time to watch a group of soldiers carry Jane into one of the smaller rooms in the Chantry. Losyre rushed forward and as they laid Jane down on the bed.

"What happened?" Losyre looked at Jane's pale face.

From behind her she could suddenly hear Cassandra's voice. "She was attacked by a demon, the Lord Seeker… he wasn't there, a demon took his place."

"What did it do to her?" Losyre asked.

"We're not sure, it attacked her and she hasn't woken since then."

Cullen was standing by the door, looking almost as pale as Jane did, his hands clasped in front of him. The soldiers who had carried Jane left the room, when they were gone, Solas appeared in the doorway. "I think I might be of some assistance."

"You can wake her?" Losyre asked.

"No, only Trevelyan can do that, but I might be able to ease the process."

"What do you need?" Cullen asked.

"I have everything I need in my bag, it's in my cabin."

"I'll fetch it," Cullen said, looking relieved to have something to do.

"You are certain you can help?" Cassandra asked.

"Yes."

"I will ask mother Giselle if she can send for more healers," Cassandra said.

"I believe the Seeker has no faith in my ability to help," Solas said once he and Losyre were left alone with Jane.

Losyre only glanced at Solas. She took Jane's hand, hoping Solas wouldn't remark on the gesture. "Sylaise, garas ne sahlin, emma athim. Las ar ma enansal; halani mir falon, las ma'enaste," she said softly. **["Sylaise, I come to you now, full of humility. Grant me your blessing; help my friend, grant her your favour."]** *

"You believe in the elven gods then?" Solas asked.

"You don't?"

Solas smiled wryly, "No." He looked at Jane's hand in Losyre's. "But I understand the sentiment of the prayer."

Losyre looked up at Solas. "Sometimes I wonder whether you are intentionally trying to distance yourself from everyone else," Losyer said before she'd considered her words.

Solas raised an eyebrow. "Unlike yourself, I suppose.".

Losyre looked at Jane, the only person she felt close to in the Inquisition. "I… yes, you're right, it's just difficult, being here."

"Away from your clan?"

Losyre narrowed her eyes, not appreciating the tone of his voice. "That too," she said, refusing to hide her grief at being apart from her family. "But I meant being here, wearing this mark, this mark that they all think belongs to religion." Losyre shook her head. "What if I was saved by some greater power, but it wasn't the Maker? What if it was one of our gods? But they wouldn't even consider that. Their Divine dies, and a Dalish elf survives, and it still has to be the work of the Maker? Wouldn't it make more sense if one of the Evanuris pulled me out of the Fade? Gave me this mark?"

Solas looked at her inquisitively. He was about to speak, but was stopped by Cullen returning to the room.

"Here," Cullen handed Solas his bag, "if you need anything else, let me know." Cullen went to stand in the corner of the room, apparently determined to stay there.

"Thank you commander," Solas said, "this might take a while, you might want to consider getting some rest," Solas said and then turned to Losyre, "and you as well."

"I'm not leaving," Losyre said just as Cullen blurted out, "I prefer to stay."

Solas only raised his eyebrows in reply and then set to work.

"It seems the elves know more about healing than we do," Cullen said after watching Solas working for a while.

"I don't believe that is true," Solas said.

"Well, I see you know what to do for Ja – Lady Trevalyan – while our healers are no help. I'm sure there are other areas where we could learn from the elves as well," Cullen said.

"Only in as much as they could learn from you," Solas said, "you should not mistake the mystique surrounding elves for hidden knowledge. I have met few elves who impressed me with their knowledge or skill."

"Truly?" Cullen asked surprised.

"Really?" Losyre asked.

"Yes," Solas said, "many elves, the Dalish especially, cling to this believe that they lost the most advanced civilisation the world has ever known, the truth is much simpler of course, and they take pride in something that did not exist as they imagined it, and hold up traditions they have twisted as some proof of their own superiority."

"You are very harsh on your own kind then," Losyre said.

"My own kind?" Solas asked, genuinely surprised. "You mean – ah, I see. I do not consider myself to have much in common with elves."

"Of course not, how else could you judge them so severely, if you did not distance yourself from them first."

Solas and Losyre locked eyes and only broke their silent stand-off when Cullen spoke.

"Wherever you learned your skill, I am grateful for it," Cullen said.

Solas turned to Cullen, "Of course, I am glad to help."

"And I am certain Lady Lavellan could teach us something as well," Cullen said, clearly trying to keep the peace.

"I do not doubt it," Solas said.

"After what you just said about the Dalish?" Losyre asked incredulously.

"I can judge you on your own merit," Solas said. "I've seen you fight, the grace with which you move and wield your daggers."

"Are you suggesting I'm graceful?" Losyre asked surprised.

"No, I am declaring it. It was not a subject for debate."

Losyre was so surprised by the sudden compliment she fell silent.

Outside the Chantry, Haven grew quiet as well, only a few soldiers remained on guard duty, the rest of the village and those camping around it went to bed. Solas worked through the night, applying potions neither Losyre nor Cullen had ever seen before. Losyre stayed by Jane's side until she eventually fell asleep, slumped over in her chair, her head on the bed. Cullen managed to stay awake longer, used to working through the night, but he too, eventually, nodded off, sloped over in a chair, his head resting on the large fur around his shoulders.

Solas woke neither of them, he did gently move Losyre's head when she was in the way, and to move her to a position that looked more comfortable. It was morning by the time they were interrupted, when Cassandra entered the small room again.

"Cullen?" Cassandra was surprised to find the commander sleeping in a chair. Cullen jolted awake, tried to get up from the chair, but was too sleepy and fell back into the chair.

The commotion awoke Losyre whose hand was still locked around Jane's hand, that twitched when the commotion woke up her as well.

Jane blinked against the bright light in the room and gasped when Losyre suddenly threw her arms around her. "Jane!"

"I missed you too," Jane said, patting her friend on the back. Losyre sat back in the chair, flushing red, seemingly embarrassed by her outburst.

Jane slowly sat upright in the bed, only now did she spot Cullen. His hair was a mess, and there was the impression of fur still pressed into his cheek. "Cul – commander – you're here?" Jane asked surprised.

"It seems he is," Cassandra said, looking at Cullen.

"I… I only wanted to make sure you were all right, I mean…" Cullen turned bright red, rubbed the back of his neck and abruptly got up and left the room. Losyre shook her head.

"How are you feeling?" Solas asked Jane.

Jane blinked. "Fine I suppose… considering."

"Considering what? What happened to you?" Losyre asked.

"I'm not sure," Jane said. "When we went after the Lord Seeker I was attacked by this demon, an envy demon and it just… it was in my head. It made me see things."

"What sort of things?" Cassandra asked.

Jane shook her head. "Things it knew would upset me. Things I would never do."

"It tried to possess you?" Losyre asked.

"No, it wanted to become me, that's what it kept saying, that it was learning to become me."

"You managed to resist it," Cassandra said, and it was unclear whether she was declaring it or asking for confirmation.

"I wasn't alone," Jane said, "there was another spirit, it _helped_ me."

"Helped you?" Cassandra asked. "It did not try to tempt you?"

Jane shook her head, "No, it – _he –_ was a good spirit I think. He called himself Cole. He said he wanted to help."

"Most likely a spirit of compassion," Solas said.

"There are spirits of compassion?" Losyre asked.

"Not many," Solas said. He turned to Jane, "You are very fortunate to have encountered one."

"Lady Trevelyan should rest," Cassandra suddenly interrupted the conversation. "Herald, your presence is needed in the war room, we have things to discuss, we have to plan for when the Templars arrive to help us close the breach."

"Of course," Losyre said, not missing the fact that she was only invited this time because they needed her mark.

"The Templars will help then?" Solas asked.

Cassandra nodded, "Many of them believe in the Herald, they want to serve the Maker and believe her to be his champion."

Losyre got up, she squeezed Jane's hand. "I'll come back to check on you after the meeting."

Cassandra left the room and Losyre was about to follow, but she paused and turned to Solas. "Thank you," she said. Solas merely nodded in response.

Losyre quickly caught up with Cassandra. "What was the commander doing in that room?" Cassandra asked.

"Cullen? He was worried," Losyre said.

"About Trevelyan," Cassandra said.

"Is that a problem?" Losyre asked, feeling defensive over her friend.

"In truth, I can see a problem with… such an attachment."

Losyre raised her eyebrows, amazed anyone would disapprove of Jane. "I'm not sure why you would be concerned."

"Cullen has other things he most concentrate on, before he…" Cassandra bit her lip. "I should not have spoken, Trevelyan is your friend."

"She is," Losyre said and she pushed open the doors to the war room.

Josephine and Cullen were already waiting inside. Cullen had fixed his hair a little.

"Officers betraying their soldiers, Templars without leaders, a demon imitating the Lord Seeker…" Cassandra said, holding a report in his hands.

"I should have come with you," Cullen said.

"You are hardly political, Commander," Josephine said, "your presence was not necessary. At any rate, we have gained the Templars as allies."

"Allies?" Cassandra huffed. "The crimes they've committed, we should not have allied with them."

"I agree with Cassandra," Leliana said, "the Templars were at our mercy, yet the terms of this alliance do not benefit the Inquisition as they should."

"We cannot change the alliance Lady Trevelyan arranged," Josephine said.

"She should have consulted us," Leliana said.

"We sent her there to represent the Inquisition, we should show faith in her," Josephine said.

"I agree with Josephine," Losyre said, "if you are unwilling to take Jane's guidance, you should not have put her in charge of this." Losyre looked at Leliana, who remained quiet. "When will the Templars arrive?"

"We expect them–" Josephine said but was interrupted when suddenly a young man appeared before them.

"They're almost here, Templars don't like to be late," the young man said. He was sitting on the war table.

"Maker!" Cullen exclaimed, drawing his sword. Cassandra quickly did the same.

"I came to help. I would have spoken before, but you were busy. I want to help. Like before."

Both Cullen and Cassandra drew closer to the young man. It was clear the others saw him as a threat, but something he said had reminded Losyre of what Jane had told her.

"Wait!" Losyre said to the others. She turned to the young man, "Are you… Cole?"

The young man only glanced at her from under his large hat. "I am."

"You helped my friend, Jane," Losyre said.

"She did not want the demon in her head. She did not want me either. She only wanted herself in her head."

Losyre turned to the other, "Cole helped Jane fight the demon who attacked her, I think we can trust him."

"Trust him?" Cullen asked, he almost sounded personally offended by the notion.

"Herald, this creature is not–" Cassandra started to say.

"I would like to hear why he came," Leliana said.

"You make people safe. I want to do that," Cole said.

"I believe him," Losyre said. "We should let him stay."

"You're not honestly suggesting we give him run of the camp?" Cullen asked, incredulous.

"Cole could help us," Losyre said.

Cullen was about to protest further, but then Cole disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.

"I'll have people look for the boy," Leliana said, "for now we must concentrate on the Breach."

"We'll need your help when the Templars arrive," Cullen said to Losyre.

Losyre was thankful when the meeting ended. Exiting the Chantry she was met by Jane. "How did things go in there?" she asked.

"I thought you'd still be in bed," Losyre said.

Jane shrugged.

"Lady Trevelyan!" Cullen approached them. "You are… are you well?"

"I am," Jane said. Both Jane and Cullen seemed busy studying the leaves on the ground.

"What happened to you in Therinfal was terrible, to have a demon try to corrupt your mind like that is no minor thing. I know what that's like, I'm glad to see you well," Cullen said.

"You do?" Jane asked. "What did you see?"

"I'd rather not speak of it," Cullen said.

"I understand," Jane said.

"What did you see?" Losyre asked Jane.

Jane hesitated before answering, "The demon showed me myself, doing things I would never do."

Cullen nodded.

"It showed me…" Jane took a deep breath. "It showed me myself, killing you." Jane looked at Cullen.

"Me?" he asked surprised.

"Yes, I think it was showing me things it knew would upset me."

Cullen blinked, "And that upset you, watching me die?"

Jane turned bright red, before she could answer though, one of the Inquisition's scouts approached Cullen with a report. Cullen took the report and quickly looked it over. "I have things to attend to," he said before saying goodbye to them both. Losyre watched Jane as she waved Cullen off, keeping her face hidden behind her hair.

* * *

That night there was a celebration in Haven, the tavern was full of people, there was music and enough drink to last the night. Losyre was unsure of what was being celebrated – perhaps the alliance with the Templars – but had come along at Jane's request. Jane meanwhile had recovered quickly and was her old self again.

Jane had been staring at Cullen, who was sitting in the corner of the room, looking exceptionally uncomfortable, and out of place, still dressed in full armour. Jane seemed to be having other thoughts, as her concentration was only broken when the door to the tavern opened and Solas entered.

"Perhaps I should thank him again," Jane said.

"Have you not thanked him enough?" Losyre asked.

"Yes, I suppose."

"Besides, wouldn't you much rather talk to the commander?" Losyre elbowed her friend.

"What?" Jane asked, flushing red.

"I could call him over to our table," Losyre teased.

"No! Please don't," Jane said. "I wouldn't know what to say."

"So you admit you do want to talk to him!"

Jane turned even redder.

"Maybe ask him to dance?" Losyre suggested, looking at few people – who'd probably had too much of the taverns beer – dancing.

"I couldn't!" Jane said, hiding her face behind her hands.

Losyre laughed and so did Jane.

"And, is there anyone you'd like to dance with?" Losyre asked.

"Here? No."

"Solas maybe?"

"You're only suggesting Solas because we are both elves," Losyre said.

"It gives you something to talk about; something you have in common."

"I don't think he'd agree," Losyre said. "Besides, he is the last person I would ever dance with."

Much to Losyre's dismay, Solas approached their table. "I see you have recovered from your ordeal," Solas said to Jane.

"Yes, thank you again."

"I did very little, the victory was yours."

Jane shook her head, "No, I had help."

"Yes, from Cole," Solas said.

"Have you seen him?" Jane asked. "I want to thank him, but haven't been able to find him. Losyre said he is somewhere in the camp."

"I have met Cole, yes," Solas said.

"You weren't afraid?" Losyre asked. "Most people seem to be unnerved by him, if they even remember him."

"I have some experience in these matters," Solas said. "Cole is a spirit of Compassion, you need not fear him."

"I don't," Losyre said.

"That is admirable, few would find that courage, given what is taught about spirits these days."

"Jane wasn't afraid either."

Solas turned to Jane. "How did Cole seem to you?"

"Like a nice young man, spirit or not."

Solas nodded.

"You are surprised?" Losyre asked.

"I am." Solas studied Losyre's face. "I would have expected you to be more apprehensive of Cole, I believe the Dalish share very specific teachings about spirits."

"I am capable of judging people on my own terms, besides, we might not be as ignorant as you like to paint us."

"I would never dismiss the Dalish's worth, I am simply not willing to overlook their faults."

"I think you are too eager to look for faults," Losyre said.

"Every group has its faults."

"And people?"

"People as well," Solas said.

"And what of you then? What are your faults?" Losyre asked.

"You cannot discern them for yourself?" Solas asked, almost challenging her.

"I would not dare, it would not be my place, being just a Dalish."

"I suspect you have already," Solas said.

"But you have no faults, you're known for that! You will not even allow yourself the fault of being an elf!"

"I do not consider myself a part of the modern elves, no, but I have never claimed not to have any shortcomings in my character," Solas said.

"Oh, I would not have expected such an admission on your part," Losyre said, "tell me then, what is this flaw in your character?"

Solas seemed to consider whether he would answer her, then, after a short pause, "Pride."

Losyre and Solas looked at each other. Jane had become increasingly uneasy with where this conversation was leading. She got up from her chair. "Let's get some fresh drinks," she said to Losyre as she grabbed her arm and dragged her up with her.

Losyre followed Jane, but was stopped by Solas who called her name. "Losyre, I think it's only fair if you tell me yours." Losyre considered for a while, then smiled, "I believe in this aspect, we are similar," she said, "I would say pride as well, but I am not certain if I would consider it a flaw."

Notes:

* I had to think of a prayer, and one I could actually translate with the few words we know in elven. I directed the prayer to Sylaise as she taught elves how to use herbs and magic for healing purposes.

I'm thinking it's probably obvious which chapters I've combined, but if you're curious, feel free to ask me!


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